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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pit — a hole
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. row — a line
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. stock — goods
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stock — shares
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bass — low music
  15. lean — thin
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bass — the fish
  18. press — to push
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com